Mom’s wish comes true: Her son killed in Vietnam will be buried on Big Island — on Veterans Day

Fifty-six years ago, Army Sgt. 1st Class Rodney Yano, who was killed in Vietnam, was buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

But it has always been the wish of Lillian Mae Leinaʻala Yano for her son to be buried at home on the Big Island.

While she did not live long enough to see her wish come true, passing away in 2006, Sgt. 1st Class Yano finally is coming home. The native of Kealakekua will be laid to rest at Kona’s West Hawai‘i Veterans Cemetery during a special ceremony on Veterans Day. His surviving family members, including a brother, will be in attendance.

Yano will be the first Medal of Honor recipient to be interned at the cemetery.

“It’s going to be a great day for veterans on the Big Island,” said retired U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Jim Hussey, past commander of the Kona American Legion and past state commander.

On Jan. 1, 1969, 26-year-old Yano tried to suppress a fire that broke out prematurely in his aircraft. He managed to kick the flaming materials out of the helicopter, but was badly burned and died from his injuries.

He was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his efforts to put out the fire and prevent it from crashing. President Richard Nixon presented the prestigious award to his parents.

“At one time, they wanted to take him to Arlington [located in Virginia], but my parents didn’t want that because of the travel,” said 78-year-old Glen Yano, Rodney’s youngest of three brothers.

Glen Yano said his older brother had already served two tours in Vietnam when he decided to go serve for a third tour.

In 1969, Glen Yano was stationed at Schofield Barracks on Oʻahu with the Hawai‘i National Guard when his brother returned from his latest tour for rest and recuperation.

During their reunion, Glen Yano said his brother pulled him aside and said he would re-enlist for a third term to keep him out of the war longer. Rodney Yano told his younger brother he would have “a better survival rate” because he was working on helicopters and Glen Yano was slated to be infantry.

If Rodney Yano survived, he would have come home on March 15, 1969. Glen Yanoʻs orders were to go on March 30, 1969. Because he lost his brother, Glen Yano explained that the military did not deploy him because of its policy not to send another son into combat if a family has already lost one.

“The greatest gift a man can give is to lay down his life for another,” Glen Yano said. “In a way, I regret I cannot thank him. I hope to do so one day when I see him again.”

It wasnʻt until 2019 that the process began to return Rodney Yano’s remains to the Big Island. That’s when Glen Yano and his wife connected with Barbara Kossow, who was working at the time as the deputy managing director for Hawai‘i County Mayor Harry Kim.

Through Kim’s connections at working with the American Legion, Rodney’s remains were cremated and returned two months later to Glen Yano in January 2023.

On the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, community members came together to celebrate the installation of the Vietnam Memorial at West Hawai‘i Veterans Cemetery. Names of Hawai‘i Island men who served in the war were etched into the stone, including Rodney Yano.

“I brought him home, which was my mother’s wish, but due to major medical issues with myself, I had to put a delay on the reinterment,” Glen Yano said.

Finally, with the medical issue corrected by the end of 2024, Glen Yano wanted to intern his brother before he ran into other health problems.

“It’s a beautiful site,” Glen Yano said of his brother’s grave in The West Hawai‘i Veterans Cemetery. “He’s overlooking the ocean he used to love to play in.”

During their summer break in the 1960s, Glen Yano said he and his brothers used to fish with their dad or work in the coffee land. Rodney Yano was hired by another fisherman to chum the water to attract fish to the motorized canoe and lay the nets.

“When the fish came, he’d scoop them up from the net,” Glen Yano said.

While Glen Yano didn’t think they needed to perform the reinternment on Veterans Day, he said it is special.

“Normally, the veterans cemetery doesn’t do internments on holidays or weekends. But they’re doing this for Rodney,” he said.

Despite the ongoing government shutdown, Hussey said, it won’t stop them from holding a state-run service for Yano with volunteers from the American Legion.

“If you enjoy your freedom, thank a veteran because they fought for it,” Glen Yano said. “I believe I have to live because (my brother) gave me a chance to live, him and God.”